Team Iliad, My First RMT (OU)

[Crimsonhaze14]

OK. THE MORE I'VE BEEN PLAYING THIS TEAM, THE MORE PROBLEM I FIND IT HAS. I FEEL IT NEEDS A FEW ADJUSTMENTS. I'M THINKING OF CHANGING THE LEAD TO AERODACTYL AND SWITCHING METAGROSS WITH FERALIGATR (DON'T LAUGH). I NEED MORE OPINIONS ON WHAT TO DO, AS I'M NOT REACHING THE POTENTIAL THAT MY TEAM CAN REACH.


All changes I make are in red.
Ok. Before I begin, I just want to say that this is my first RMT and I am pretty new to Competitive Battling. That being said, i know my team will be incomplete and have lots of holes in it, and everyone here should be able to tear it up pretty good. But, that is exactly why I'm posting this. So enough with that, here's the team:

OVERVIEW

This is a team that may seem like it doesnt fit together at first, but I used it to success. The point of this team is to be balanced, and to be able to combat almost all Pokemon in OU.

LEAD

Diomedes (Swampert) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Torrent
EVs: 240 HP/216 Def/52 SAtk
Relaxed nature (+Def, -Spd)
- Earthquake
- Stealth Rock
- Surf
- Ice Beam
It has been suggested that I move my AgiliGross out of my lead position and put a Mixpert in there, which is exactly what I have done. Stealth Rocks weaken everybody that switches in, and Swampert can also come in at a later time and take down any electric or other pokemon that get in my way. He also has a great track records against other leads.

Surprise!

Odysseus (Charizard) (M) @ Choice Scarf/Life Orb
Ability: Blaze
EVs: 4 Def/252 Spd/252 SAtk
Modest nature (+SAtk, -Atk)
- Air Slash
- Dragon Pulse
- Flamethrower/Fire Blast
- Focus Blast

Ahhhh. I love this guy right here. The most out of the box member of my team, my revenge killer/late game sweeper Charizard. Yes, i have heard all of the negatives. "50% stealth rock weakness makes Zard unusable" "If he's in OU, only use BellyZard." But with the proper support and element of surprise, ScarfZard is a suprisingly good revenge killer (if you have a spinner). With this set, Charizard can come in and revenge kill many different OU Pokemon, with the benefit of the opponent most likely keeping them in, due to the fact they think he is going to BD. I opted for Air Slash over a HP because i am not going to send Zard in on a water type, unless I have some extreme mental illness, along with the fact it is another STAB and does more damage than any of my other moves on many pokemon that resist my fire STAB. I use Modest over Timid because the scarf gives it all the speed it needs, and i used the standard 252 sweeper spread by maxing out SpAtt and Speed. Life Orb CAN be an option, but i prefer Choice Scarf because it makes Zard surprise everybody.

The Bruiser

Heracles (Machamp) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: No Guard
EVs: 252 HP/252 Atk/4 Def
Adamant nature (+Att, -SpA)
- Dynamicpunch
- Earthquake
- Payback
- Bullet Punch

I love Machamp on this team, as it can switch into anything thats not a bird or a psychic type, and KO it with ease and a lot of health to spare. Dynamicepunch is obviously the crux of this set, as it puts holes into everything and has the added bonus of confusion. Machamp's minimum speed makes sure Payback will hit last, which sodomizes opposing ghosts. Earthquake is a somewhat filler, but has great coverage and power. Bullet Punch is there for when I'm against a weaker opponent, and NEED to strike first. This guy is great for when i need to kill Blissey or any other pokemon that charizard and metagross don't kill.

The Sword Dancer

Ajax (Scizor) (M) @ Leftovers
Ability: Technician
EVs: 200 HP/252 Atk/56 Spd
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Bullet Punch
- Swords Dance
- Superpower
- Roost

Where Vaporeon once was, now resides a bulky version of Scizor, who can set up on almost anything and kill them. Superpower is over brick break for it's huge difference in power, and the other moves are pretty standard, BP is main attacking move, Roost to get rid of damage, and SD to raise attack.

The Beast of Crete

Talos (Metagross) @ Life Orb
Ability: Clear Body
EVs: 112 HP/252 Atk/12 Def/132 Spe
Adamant nature (+Atk, -SAtk)
- Agility
- Meteor Mash
- Thunderpunch
- EarthquakeThe ex-lead has been revamped to be a more threatening sweeper. The EV's are the AgiliGross standard, and the moves are as well. I chose Thunderpunch over Icepunch and Explosion because It hits Skarmory a lot harder and stops bulky waters, which very much helps Zard clean up. Meteor Mash and EQ are for STAB and coverage, and make a deadly combination.

Spinner

Orion (Starmie) @ Leftovers
Ability: Natural Cure
EVs: 136 HP / 156 Def / 216 Spe
Timid nature (+Spe, -Atk)
- Recover
- Rapid Spin
- Thunderbolt
- Surf
Starmie is a monster part of my team. SR eats my team alive, and only one little star can deal with it. The bulk is needed be be able to rapid spin, and to be my first (and last) line of defense against Gyarados. The moveset is pretty standard, as I opt for Surf for the accuracy, Thunderbolt to kill Gyara, and Recover for longevity. Timid is to make it as fast as it needs to be.


TEAM BUILDING PROCESS

Charizard is by far my favorite Pokemon, and I wanted to make a team on which he could be effective, yet not predictable, hence ScarfZard.

Now, what is the biggest problem with Charizard? Stealth Rocks. Enter Starmie, who can also take out water and rock types, which gives Charizard a hard time.

Between those two, I lack a Blissey counter. Machamp fixes that and adds an extremely capable physical sweeper to my team.

Now it starts to get interesting. I feel that my team needs to be able to protect Zard more, since Starmie isn't a "wall" and needs to wait for the right occasion to come out and survive, because a Gyarados might be hiding in the shadows. I choose Vaporeon, since he can not just resist, but absorb water attacks.

"One more wall should do me good!." That is the reason for Swampert, along with his ability to smack around things that dont agree with Ice Punch, Earthquake, or Waterfall.

"I just need a lead now!" I don't want something that is too standard, and I want something that can do some serious damage. Metagross! I chose You!

Then, after all of the constructive criticism I was getting, I decided to take out Vappy for SD Scizor.

THREAT LIST (OFFENCE)

Azelf: When used as lead, Metagross takes care of it with Agility then Meteor Mash, which gets it down to it's Focus Sash, and then Gross can try again, if he dies, Machamp goes in to lull it into a false sense of security, then kills it with Bullet Punch.

Breloom: Annoying as hell when using Spore. If it's awake, Charizard easily kills it with Air Slash/Flamethrower.

Celebi: Charizard kicks this fairy in the ass. When needed, any of my waters can Ice Beam it to death, when Vappy is bulky enough to take a hit or two.

Dugtrio: Charizard switches on EQ, most likely gets a KO with Flamethrower. Swampert, Vappy, and Stamie also make quick work of it.

Electivire: Machamp takes care of it with EQ, Swampert can switch in an EQ itself.

Empoleon: Stamie, Machamp, wampert, and Metagross counter him easily (Thunderbolt, EQ x3)

Flygon: Any of my ice-type abusers or charizard to a lesser extent (although i need to be aware of Stone-Edge)

Gengar: This thing is easily taken care of. Basically any of my Pokemon OHKO it, but Machamp is the best counter, due to its ability to take a STAB'd Shadow Ball and Payback it in the face. Needs to be aware of WoW though.

Gliscor: Ice punch/beamers eat him alive.

Gyarados: This thing is very scary to me. Starmie is the only thing that can 100% counter it, and if it has DD'd, all hope is lost. Huge hole in my team.

Heatran: Earthquake/Dynamic Punch from Machamp, EQ Swampert also is extremely effective. So is Vappy and Starmie.

Heracross: Charizard. Hera isnt as popular anymore, but can could cause problems if Zard is dead.

Infernape: Charizard spanks all versions due to speed advantage, Swampert, Vappy, and Starmie can all switch in safely and kill him.

Jirachi: Annoying as hell sometimes. Metagross can destroy lead variants with EQ, Charizard can Flamethrower them to death, and Machamp can DP. But flinchhax is something to be careful of.

Kingdra: All of my waters can switch in easily and slowly kill him, Charizard can Dragon Pulse him.

Latias: Swampert is number one counter due to physical ice punch, but all of my waters and Charizard can to well.

Lucario: Metagross, Charizard, Machamp, Swampert. Enough said.

Machamp: Charizard is #1 counter, but on No-Guard sets, Swampert and Vappy can stall it out with Toxic.

Magnezone: Charizard rapes, so does Machamp, Swampert, and Metagross.

Mamoswine: Charizard is a great counter. Also Machamp hurts it, but other than that, he is kind of hard to take down.

Metagross: Charizard, Machamp, Swampert, and my own Metagross are great counters.

Ninjask: Charizard. (seeing a pattern here?) The Ice users also take him down with ease.

Porygon-Z: Machamp does very well against him, and my other Pokemon can weaken him very well.

Rhyperior: This thing is a beast, but my whole team can take him down. Charizard CAN Focus Blast if the situation comes to that.

Roserade: The lead screws up Meta. Charizard is a great counter, and so is my ice punchers.

Rotom-A: Pretty tough to kill and i have no 100% counter. But it can be worked around.

Salamence: Charizard OHKO's it, so does all of my water's ice attacks.

Scizor: Charizard. Machamp, Metagross.

Snorlax: Machamp can beat it handily, but everything else needs help.

Starmie: My Starmie will be slower than opposing variants, most likely, and grass knot/tbolt is a pain. No pure counter.

Suicune: This thing is a bitch. Machamp that confuses it can stop it form CM'ing, and hits it hard as well. But no 100% counter besides Starmie (before it CM's)

Togekiss: I HATE this thing, although once i hit it, it goes down pretty easily.

Tyranitar: Whole team has a move that is super effective on it.

Weavile:Charizard beats it handily, machamp boasts a similar record against it.

Yanmega: Charizard kicks its ass, and so do all of my ice-attackers.

Zapdos: Hate this thing, gotta rely on Swampert to Ice Punch it and absorb Tbolts.

DEFENSIVE THREATS

Blissey: scizor, machamp, and metagross make quick work of it.

Bronzong: Charizard is #1 counter, everything out can slowly kill it.

Celebi: Zard fodder, ice beam fodder, payback fodder.

Claydol: #1 counter is swampert, then scizor and metagross.

Cresselia: thunderpunch from metagross is only hope, along with payback (if machamp survives), oh, and starmie.

Dusknoir: Machamp can payback, but other than that, nothing really takes care of it.

Forretress: Charizard kills it easily, so can more of my other pokemon.

Hippowdon: Swampert eats him alive.

Latias: Charizard, Swampert, and Metagross can kill it.

Milotic: Starmie and Metagross can electrify it.

Miltank: Machamp pwns it.
Rotom: machamp can kill it with payback, others can weaken it.

Skarmory: Charizard, Metagross, Starmie, Swampert.

Snorlax: Machamp can take it down, but everything else takes time to kill it.

Spiritomb: Well.... All my pokemon can take it down w/thier stabs (besides machamp)

Starmie: My own starmie can take it down, along with metagross and machamp (if it doesnt carry psychic)

Suicune: Damn thing is evil. Tbolt from starmie and Tpunch from metagross can take it down.

Tentacruel: Swampert, machamp, metagross can usually take it down pretty easily.

Umbreon: machamp kicks it in the butt. Charizard can kill it w/focus blast if needed be.

Uxie: Well... machamp can payback, but nothing is a pure counter for it.

Vaporeon: Starmie and metagross are best counters i have, sadly

Zapdos: metagross can take it down pretty handily, swampert can as well.
​

 

[familyguyman]

Hmm, an interesting team for sure but I sense two problems.

The first is that I don't see and end game plan. You've got nothing that can muscle past things like Cresselia or Suicune.

This is likely because of the second problem, the extreme redundancy or Swampert and Vaporeon. Two bulky waters, each with Toxic and a Water attack is not necessary, especially as it compounds the Grass weakness that as of now is shared by half of your team, especially if Charizard is killed.

My advice is to switch one of them for SD Scizor. Scizor can set up and crush Cresselia and Suicune with X-Scissor, sweep a little with Bullet Punch and is only really walled by Rotom, Gyarados, Skarmory and Heatran, who are handled well by Vaporeon/Swampert and Starmie. He also adds a necessary Steel typing to your team, especially if Metagross is suicidal.

I would replace Vaporeon/Swampert with a Bulky SD Scizor, the set is on his page. If you do drop Vaporeon, make Swampert Mixed so he can Earthquake Heatran and Surf Skarmory.

Also, please don't waste Starmie's precious speed on that much bulk, especially with 2 other bulky waters (which is even more silly). Right now, you don't even out speed neutral nature Rotom-A who can be maimed by Hydro Pump. Same with Gengar and Latias and Infernape, etc etc.

Good luck!

I hope that helps!

 

[cyberzero]

I like having a non-SR Metagross as a lead, but I'd recommend a slightly different set. I'd run Lum Berry over Focus Sash and Bullet Punch over Agility. Metagross is bulky enough to take almost any attacks that a lead would have except the occasional STAB Fire Blast. Using EQ or Meteor Mash, it can hurt most leads and then pick them off with Bullet Punch.

 

[Yehom]

Your point of this team is to be balanced? Damn, you are everthing but balanced. Your team is going to be swept off by a Zapdos with HP Grass, or just Breloom(if your Zard is gone), or a Starmie with Grass Knot.

Also your Metagross lead is very ocward. No Stealth Rock? No Bullet Punch? Why Agility if you carry Explosion? It doesn't make sense. And what's with the overload of Water Pokemon? Why trying to be balanced with 3 Pokemon of the same types? And a Brave Machamp? Why not Jolly?

You have a lot of fixing to do, because your team is going to be swept off by real balanced teams. First things first, turn your Machamp's nature into Jolly. Then, why Charizard? Try a MixMence. I'll like it, because it's more powerful and more reliable. On top of that, Salamence doesn't get his HP halved by Stealh Rock. As last change, you should replace your Swampert with a Choiced Banded Scizor:

Scizor @Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EV's: 4HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+ Atk, - SAtk)

- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit

You have to many Water Pokemon and have Swampert as a Latias-counter, but I think Scizor is a even beter counter to that and many more.

 

[Shen]

How does Metagross get an Agility off against Azelf, who will likely use Taunt? What do you do if it then sets up some screens, or SR then Flamethrower? I would run Bullet Punch over Agility. Whether you do or not, Jolly is a waste; why do you need 524 speed? You are still slower than scarfed Gengar and Azelf with positive natures, and they are not leads anyway. Adamant gets you 478, enough to tie with scarfed positive natured dragons who you resist anyway.

Empoleon is not actually as easy to stop as you might think. Hydro Pump, Grass Knot and Aqua Jet stops everything on your team, and it will almost assuredly survive a hit from everyone except Machamp, who it outspeeds. Sash leads in particular will give you problems; Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet takes out Metagross, and it can either SR or Grass Knot when you bring in Swampert/Starmie.

Celebi over Vaporeon fixes this - Recover/Leech Seed (or Twave, or CM)/Grass Knot/HP Ice seems to do the same job you want. It also resists Grass moves directed at Swampert and can take sleeps for you, and Pert can take the fire attacks. Rest and sub variants of Kingdra will also do your team some harm as it is now, helping support this idea. It also helps with Zapdos, Suicune and Gyarados.

You don't have Stealth Rocks yourself; this means that once Metagross is gone, Mence (or Latias) is free to come in and Draco Meteor your entire team over and over again. Scarfzard does a maximum of 82% to Mence and takes 66-77% from a -2 Meteor with Specs or is KOed by LO Outrage, Starmie is slower than it. You will need to lose a Poke to have Machamp Bullet Punch it, which is no good. I suggest running SR on Swampert over Toxic. Helps with Gyarados messing you up.

What good is Hydro Pump doing on Starmie except making you cry out in frustration whenever it misses? Recover is good on a bulky set, especially your only Gyara counter and spinner. Your Starmie actually only takes 67% max from Gyara Quake with a single DD up (ie. when you switched in), or 86% max if it has LO.

How does Zard "switch in" on Dugtrio? It has Arena Trap :\. It's not really a problem for this team, just saying. Good team overall, just make sure not to lose Starmie or Zard or you'll be in serious trouble.

 

[Huntofthelion]

Alright, you have a pretty unique team here. I think it could defiantly compete a lot better with a few modifications though.

Agiligross is a good Pokemon, but not that great a lead. I feel he could be used a lot better by being moved out of the lead spot, and changing it to this spread, 112 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 132 Spe with a Life Orb as the item. This will let you have another sweeper as well as being able to explode on Bulky Waters, making it more probable for your Charizard to clean up. With the lead spot open, I'd suggest turning your Swampert into the standard MixPert, and moving that to the lead spot.

Swampert@ Leftovers
Relaxed. 240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpA
Earthquake/ Ice Beam/ Stealth Rock/ Protect

This will let you put Stealth Rock into play, to wear down your opponents, which will also help Charizard clean up late game. It also retains it's ability to check Dragons and such. Protect is to scout Trick/ Explosion as well as give you additional Leftovers recovery.Next, Vaporeon isn't really doing much for your team as far as covering threats. Something that really worries me is that you have no steel to switch into Dragon attacks. To remedy this by still retaining Wish support, I would suggest a Wish Jirachi over Vappy.

Jirachi@ Leftovers
Impish. 240 HP / 160 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
Wish/ U-turn/ ThunderWave/ Iron Head

This gives you an initial switch in to dragon attacks as well as some Paralysis support to help Machamp out. Plus, you get some scouting with it, which is always nice. The next problem I see is no status absorber. Sure Starmie can take burns and even Toxic, but against something with a sleep move you have nothing to take it. I think Machamp should be the rest talking variant, which will increase his survivability as well as circumvent his problems with PP.

Machamp@ Leftovers
Adamant. 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
DynamicPunch/ Payback/ Rest/ Sleep Talk

Payback will let you hit Rotom-A hard, something that could block your Gross from sweeping. DPunch is just to hit really hard, as well as provide some welcome confuse hax. The last two changes are pretty minor. Make Charizard Timid, so that it can outrun +1 Base 100's such as Adamant DD Mence and tie things like Jolly Scarf Jirachi. Lastly, your Starmie's spread isn't exactly optimal. I'd change it to 136 HP / 156 Def / 216 Spe and give it Recover over Ice Beam, and Surf over Hydro Pump. This will let it more serve it's purpose as a check to Gyarados, something you really need to maintain.

Nice team, and good luck!

 

[Crimsonhaze14]

First, thanks to everybody that rated. I agree that I have an overload of water pokemon, and i will change that.

Hmm, an interesting team for sure but I sense two problems.

The first is that I don't see and end game plan. You've got nothing that can muscle past things like Cresselia or Suicune.

This is likely because of the second problem, the extreme redundancy or Swampert and Vaporeon. Two bulky waters, each with Toxic and a Water attack is not necessary, especially as it compounds the Grass weakness that as of now is shared by half of your team, especially if Charizard is killed.

My advice is to switch one of them for SD Scizor. Scizor can set up and crush Cresselia and Suicune with X-Scissor, sweep a little with Bullet Punch and is only really walled by Rotom, Gyarados, Skarmory and Heatran, who are handled well by Vaporeon/Swampert and Starmie. He also adds a necessary Steel typing to your team, especially if Metagross is suicidal.

I would replace Vaporeon/Swampert with a Bulky SD Scizor, the set is on his page. If you do drop Vaporeon, make Swampert Mixed so he can Earthquake Heatran and Surf Skarmory.

Also, please don't waste Starmie's precious speed on that much bulk, especially with 2 other bulky waters (which is even more silly). Right now, you don't even out speed neutral nature Rotom-A who can be maimed by Hydro Pump. Same with Gengar and Latias and Infernape, etc etc.

Good luck!

I hope that helps!

I agree with you, i do have a weakness when it comes to Cress and CalmCune. I think I am going to run the bulky SD scizor instead of vaporeon, due to the fact Pert is good enough when it comes to bulky waters, and that i need to lose some of them. And in regards to Starmie, your right that i shouldnt have so much bulk, and ill change it accordingly.

I like having a non-SR Metagross as a lead, but I'd recommend a slightly different set. I'd run Lum Berry over Focus Sash and Bullet Punch over Agility. Metagross is bulky enough to take almost any attacks that a lead would have except the occasional STAB Fire Blast. Using EQ or Meteor Mash, it can hurt most leads and then pick them off with Bullet Punch.

Im starting to see that perhaps agility should be taken out for bullet punch. But what I think I'm going to do is give Meta a life orb and take him out of the lead spot, and put a MixPert as my lead, as he can set up SR and such. And a huge problem for me, if i put him with stealth rocks would be choosing EQ or MM, something i dont think i could do.

Your point of this team is to be balanced? Damn, you are everthing but balanced. Your team is going to be swept off by a Zapdos with HP Grass, or just Breloom(if your Zard is gone), or a Starmie with Grass Knot.

Also your Metagross lead is very ocward. No Stealth Rock? No Bullet Punch? Why Agility if you carry Explosion? It doesn't make sense. And what's with the overload of Water Pokemon? Why trying to be balanced with 3 Pokemon of the same types? And a Brave Machamp? Why not Jolly?

You have a lot of fixing to do, because your team is going to be swept off by real balanced teams. First things first, turn your Machamp's nature into Jolly. Then, why Charizard? Try a MixMence. I'll like it, because it's more powerful and more reliable. On top of that, Salamence doesn't get his HP halved by Stealh Rock. As last change, you should replace your Swampert with a Choiced Banded Scizor:

Scizor @Choice Band
Ability: Technician
EV's: 4HP/252 Atk/252 Spe
Adamant Nature (+ Atk, - SAtk)

- Bullet Punch
- U-Turn
- Superpower
- Pursuit

You have to many Water Pokemon and have Swampert as a Latias-counter, but I think Scizor is a even beter counter to that and many more.

First, about Metagross. There are no stealth rocks because i dont want it to have SR. After reading everybody's ratings, im thinking of keeping Gross' move set (although a bit altered) and take it out of the lead. Also, Charizard is instead of MixMence for a few reasons. One, as it said in the team building, charizard is the center of my team and i am going to make it stay there. Also, he has an element of surprise that Mence does not have. And the SR problem is cured with Starmie. I run Brave (although I think I am going to start running adamant) because speed is not important to Machamp at all. Being in the base 65 (i think) speed class with a jolly nature won't let it outrun any of the threats in OU (besides Blissey, which can be ammended with Adamant, and 4 ev's in speed). I think i am going to take your idea on scizor, since i actually did have a CB scizor on my team before i switched to machamp (who i actually like a lot better) but instead of CB type, it will be the bulky SD type that familyguyman supposed.

How does Metagross get an Agility off against Azelf, who will likely use Taunt? What do you do if it then sets up some screens, or SR then Flamethrower? I would run Bullet Punch over Agility. Whether you do or not, Jolly is a waste; why do you need 524 speed? You are still slower than scarfed Gengar and Azelf with positive natures, and they are not leads anyway. Adamant gets you 478, enough to tie with scarfed positive natured dragons who you resist anyway.

Empoleon is not actually as easy to stop as you might think. Hydro Pump, Grass Knot and Aqua Jet stops everything on your team, and it will almost assuredly survive a hit from everyone except Machamp, who it outspeeds. Sash leads in particular will give you problems; Hydro Pump and Aqua Jet takes out Metagross, and it can either SR or Grass Knot when you bring in Swampert/Starmie.

Celebi over Vaporeon fixes this - Recover/Leech Seed (or Twave, or CM)/Grass Knot/HP Ice seems to do the same job you want. It also resists Grass moves directed at Swampert and can take sleeps for you, and Pert can take the fire attacks. Rest and sub variants of Kingdra will also do your team some harm as it is now, helping support this idea. It also helps with Zapdos, Suicune and Gyarados.

You don't have Stealth Rocks yourself; this means that once Metagross is gone, Mence (or Latias) is free to come in and Draco Meteor your entire team over and over again. Scarfzard does a maximum of 82% to Mence and takes 66-77% from a -2 Meteor with Specs or is KOed by LO Outrage, Starmie is slower than it. You will need to lose a Poke to have Machamp Bullet Punch it, which is no good. I suggest running SR on Swampert over Toxic. Helps with Gyarados messing you up.

What good is Hydro Pump doing on Starmie except making you cry out in frustration whenever it misses? Recover is good on a bulky set, especially your only Gyara counter and spinner. Your Starmie actually only takes 67% max from Gyara Quake with a single DD up (ie. when you switched in), or 86% max if it has LO.

How does Zard "switch in" on Dugtrio? It has Arena Trap :\. It's not really a problem for this team, just saying. Good team overall, just make sure not to lose Starmie or Zard or you'll be in serious trouble.

First, i just want to say that i was utterly stupid in saying zard switches into dugtrio. lol wow. but on to your suggestions, if the azelf carries Fire Blast (or stealth rocks) it might use that move, knowing Fire Blast/Flamethrower can almost KO me. I am going to give Swampert SR and move him to the lead, as well. I think i'm going to change Starmie to it's smogon standard rapin spinning set, and test that out to see how i like it. Hydro Pump is for power, but Surf is also a good move. I've used surf until a few days ago, and i cant say Hydro Pump makes or breaks games, so i am going to change that back. I also think i am going to keep celebi off my team, because Scizor can act as a a empoleon counter as well with Superpower. As well as having the bulkiness to switch on it.

Alright, you have a pretty unique team here. I think it could defiantly compete a lot better with a few modifications though.

Agiligross is a good Pokemon, but not that great a lead. I feel he could be used a lot better by being moved out of the lead spot, and changing it to this spread, 112 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 132 Spe with a Life Orb as the item. This will let you have another sweeper as well as being able to explode on Bulky Waters, making it more probable for your Charizard to clean up. With the lead spot open, I'd suggest turning your Swampert into the standard MixPert, and moving that to the lead spot.

Swampert@ Leftovers
Relaxed. 240 HP / 216 Def / 52 SpA
Earthquake/ Ice Beam/ Stealth Rock/ Protect

This will let you put Stealth Rock into play, to wear down your opponents, which will also help Charizard clean up late game. It also retains it's ability to check Dragons and such. Protect is to scout Trick/ Explosion as well as give you additional Leftovers recovery.Next, Vaporeon isn't really doing much for your team as far as covering threats. Something that really worries me is that you have no steel to switch into Dragon attacks. To remedy this by still retaining Wish support, I would suggest a Wish Jirachi over Vappy.

Jirachi@ Leftovers
Impish. 240 HP / 160 Def / 76 SpD / 32 Spe
Wish/ U-turn/ ThunderWave/ Iron Head

This gives you an initial switch in to dragon attacks as well as some Paralysis support to help Machamp out. Plus, you get some scouting with it, which is always nice. The next problem I see is no status absorber. Sure Starmie can take burns and even Toxic, but against something with a sleep move you have nothing to take it. I think Machamp should be the rest talking variant, which will increase his survivability as well as circumvent his problems with PP.

Machamp@ Leftovers
Adamant. 252 HP / 252 Atk / 4 Spe
DynamicPunch/ Payback/ Rest/ Sleep Talk

Payback will let you hit Rotom-A hard, something that could block your Gross from sweeping. DPunch is just to hit really hard, as well as provide some welcome confuse hax. The last two changes are pretty minor. Make Charizard Timid, so that it can outrun +1 Base 100's such as Adamant DD Mence and tie things like Jolly Scarf Jirachi. Lastly, your Starmie's spread isn't exactly optimal. I'd change it to 136 HP / 156 Def / 216 Spe and give it Recover over Ice Beam, and Surf over Hydro Pump. This will let it more serve it's purpose as a check to Gyarados, something you really need to maintain.

Nice team, and good luck!

What you say makes a lot of sense to me, and i am going to take quite a few of your ideas. What you say about meta is true, and he is going to leave the lead spot, with mixpert going it. I also agree that i need another steel type to switch on dragons, but instead of jirachi, im going to go with bulky SD scizor. About Machamp, it never really occurred to me to use sleep talk, although it seems appealing to have a status-eater. but i think i will keep my current machamp, as i need the priority of bullet punch, as well as the coverage and already good durablilty he provides. As for Charizard, I understand the Timid, but Modest provides me with that extra edge of power i need. I will take you up on the starmie set, however, and change to recover and surf.

Thank everybody for the ratings, and keep 'em coming!

 

[BalancedPower]

Wow man. An Iliad team without Hector or Achilles? You should be ashamed.
Ajax and Machamp go hand in hand.
And Achilles should probably be Scizor or Charizard. Odysseus could be Swampert, and Hector would be either Scizor or Charizard.
:D

But the team is fine, but I really don't like that Scizor set on this team. First off I am never a huge fan of two pokemon that need stat boosts to really sweep on the same team. Plus you seem to need a scout and a guy who take hits pretty well (Machamp without Rest will get beaten fairly quickly).
Dunno just my opinion, there is probably more. But mainly change those names!

 

[sora13]

A couple of changes i can think of......

You seem to have a lot of trouble with stall, and I don't want to ruin the synergy, so I recommend you tweak Machamp a bit so he can ravage stall.

Change his set to:

Machamp @ Leftovers
Adamant
252 HP/ 252 Atk/ 4 Def
-Dynamic Punch
-Payback
-Stone Edge
-Substitute

This Machamp demolishes stall because almost nothing on a stall team will outspeed him and he can set-up a Sub. Here's the idea. You send him on something like Blissey. Blissey switches out while you set-up a sub. Zapdos comes in. You use D-Punch. You set-up another sub during confusion. you use Stone Edge kills Zappy. Now the opponent has to face a Machamp behind a sub, and the process repeats.

The Scizor set you use cannot set-up effectively due to lack of bulk, even with those HP EVs. In my experience, this Scizor works much better.

Scizor @ Leftovers/Shed Shell
Adamant
252 HP/ 80 Atk/ 176 Sp Def
-Swords Dance
-Bullet Punch
-Brick Break
-Roost

This set forgoes the immediate power and allows you to set up much easier. It's so easy to get up 3 SDs on crap like Vaporeon, Rapid Spin Starmie, Celebi, Latias, and other bulky waters. Just Roost off the damage as it comes and after 3 SDs, lack of power doesn't matter anymore. Even Magnezone fail's to OHKO this thing(with Hp Fire), allowing you to Brick Break him back.

 

[Crimsonhaze14]

Wow man. An Iliad team without Hector or Achilles? You should be ashamed.
Ajax and Machamp go hand in hand.
And Achilles should probably be Scizor or Charizard. Odysseus could be Swampert, and Hector would be either Scizor or Charizard.
:D

But the team is fine, but I really don't like that Scizor set on this team. First off I am never a huge fan of two pokemon that need stat boosts to really sweep on the same team. Plus you seem to need a scout and a guy who take hits pretty well (Machamp without Rest will get beaten fairly quickly).
Dunno just my opinion, there is probably more. But mainly change those names!

Haha well i like Oddyseus on Charizard, just because hes prett damn awesome. If metagross had explosion, he would be Ajax, since he kills himself. lol. and personally, i think scizor actually fits in very well on my team, and I'll keep it as is.

A couple of changes i can think of......

You seem to have a lot of trouble with stall, and I don't want to ruin the synergy, so I recommend you tweak Machamp a bit so he can ravage stall.

Change his set to:

Machamp @ Leftovers
Adamant
252 HP/ 252 Atk/ 4 Def
-Dynamic Punch
-Payback
-Stone Edge
-Substitute

This Machamp demolishes stall because almost nothing on a stall team will outspeed him and he can set-up a Sub. Here's the idea. You send him on something like Blissey. Blissey switches out while you set-up a sub. Zapdos comes in. You use D-Punch. You set-up another sub during confusion. you use Stone Edge kills Zappy. Now the opponent has to face a MAchamp behind a sub, and the process repeats.

I do admit that i sometimes have trouble w/the stall, but i personally love my machamp's set and he averages more KO's per game than anyone else. i guess i'll just have to try to overpower stallers.

 

[Crimsonhaze14]

I updated and added the defensive threats as well. I have had great success using this new and improved team, so thanks to all that have commented so far =D

 

[Crimsonhaze14]

read the blue at the top, i need more help =/